Australia among Vietnam’s key partners: Ambassador

Sydney (VNA) – Australia is among Vietnam’s
key partners in the region and the world, Vietnamese Ambassador Ngo Huong
Nam said in an interview with the Canberra Times as the two countries are
celebrating the 45th anniversary of their relations this year.

In the full two-page interview, Nam said after four
decades, the bilateral ties between Vietnam and Australia have grown steadily
and visit exchanges between their high-ranking leaders have created impetuses
to bring the relations to a new height.

Vietnam and Australia are proud of their growing
diplomacy in all fields, including economy, trade, education, science-
technology and security-defence, he told the Australia-based newspaper.

Two-way trade rose by more than 200 times after over
three decades, from 32.3 million USD in 1990 to 6.46 billion USD in 2017, he
noted. As trade is a key pillar of the bilateral relationship, Ambassador Ngo
Huong Nam expects the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific
Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
will be signed soon, paving the way for more cooperation opportunities between
the two sides.

Bilateral security-defence collaboration is also thriving
as the two nations share their common concern about terrorism, cyber security
and issues in the East Sea. Vietnam pledges to strongly support Australia in
its relations with ASEAN as well as its active role in Asia-Pacific, he said.

The ambassador added that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will make an official
visit to Australia next month, during which Vietnam and Australia will sign a
document to upgrade their ties to a strategic partnership, opening up a new era
for the two nations’ relations. The visit will also outline goals and
directions for the bilateral relationship in the future, the ambassador said.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,
he said, noting the he will work harder to contribute to the development of the
bilateral ties.-VNA